12-year-old daughter of pilot killed in chopper crash wants to join Air Force

Rescue officals at the spot where an IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter crashed in Coonoor. Pic/PTI

The 12-year-old daughter of Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, who died in the helicopter crash along with General Bipin Rawat and 11 others, said she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps and become an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot.

After lighting her father's pyre along with her brother Aviraj (7) and cousin Pushpendra Singh at the Tajganj Crematorium here in the presence of her family members, Aaradhya, a Class VII student, said she wanted to emulate her father because he was her hero.

Officials from the IAF, Agra administration and police among others, too, paid their tributes to Wing Commander Chauhan.

"My father used to advise me to focus on my studies and not chase marks. He believed marks would follow if I focused on studies," she said.

Prithvi's family migrated from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh to Agra in 2006.

He joined the service in 2000 and was flying with the Chief of Defence Staff as part of his assignment at the IAF station in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, during the crash.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.